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church of the Augustine Friars; even the less de votional would not remain at home, but would kneel at the foot, I should say before the pedestal of the immaculate Virgine del Parto, in English Vergin of Parturition." To make the history short; the monks of the Augustine order envying the canons of the Pantheon of the great income which the Lady of Stone brought, they devised a plan to draw the revenues of the Pantheon into the treasury of their convent. Having an old rough statue of a Madonna in the corridor of the convent, for many years covered with dust, they thought that lady would be more comfortably situated in the church; they appointed a day, which was extensively published and widely cir culated, that the Lady of Parturition, who performed so many miracles upon several females in time of need, would be carried in procession to the church. The vanity of the ladies having been touched, they collected from all parts, and the Lady of Parturition became the lady of the ladies.

The canons of the Pantheon were alarmed at that trick, because the Lady of the Stone lost a great many customers, and the canons felt that loss in their pockets too, much more so as the

monks carried on business in a more skillful manner, and their revenues became incalculable.

Three monks were constantly engaged, one with a stole over his neck and a maniple on his hand, who blessed the wax candles; the other sold them to the devoted women, and lighted them before the Virgin of Parturition, the third was walking round with the purgatory box, and received the offerings. The great concourse of people brought as a matter of course a great number of female penitents to the confessionals, who procured a great many Masses to be said to the Lady of the Ladies, who payed lady-like for it. The gifts which the Roman ladies [who are gen erally very liberal to monks] brought her, were so great, that in a short time half of the church was garnished with jewels and ladies ornaments, so that it seemed more like entering the shop of a jeweller, rather than a temple of the living God. Even the young ladies gathered at all times in a large number before the Lady of Ladies, to try her miraculous virtues, praying her to procure for them husbands. The young gentlemen being sure to find the young ladies upon their knees in the Augustine church, became adorers of the lady as a matter of courtesy. So at every hour of the

day, but especially in the evening until late in the night the adorers of both sexes filled the church.

The poor Stone Lady in the Pantheon was placed in the most critical pecuniary state, her income [as I have been informed by a canon of that church] was not more than twenty dollars a month. The canons being in a desperate financial state, they brought an action of irregularity, against the Lady of Parturition: "being not canonised, she has no right, nor power to work miracles, moreover the miracles she had performed already were no miracles at all, not having received the sanction of the Pope the head of the church, consequently cannot have the approval of her beloved Son."

Scarcely had this transpired, before it spread like fire through the whole city, and became the subject of conversation in every circle, the railings against the priests and monks, the laughing of the young people, the mockings at the ladies; the pasquinades and scandals are not to be described. Every one was anxious to see the end of the trial. Some avowed that the lady of the monks must shut her counting house, for if the church would sanction such an abuse, every stone could be adored and worshiped. The church only [said the

priests] is the judge of a true miracle, and not the person who pretends to have been the subject of it. Others argued the contrary; they believed that the power of the queen of heaven cannot be limited, she can manifest it where and when she likes. The church in canonising a Madonna does not authorize or sanction, but recognizes it as an act of free mercy of the heavenly queen.

The retired monks troubled themselves very little about the corruptions of the world, or the avariciousness of the canons, not even about the destitute state of the Stone Lady in the Pantheon, and continued to light and to sell their wax candles, to sing litanies and to spread abroad new miracles of the great lady. The monks whispered it in the confessionals, proclaimed it at the altar, cried about it from the pulpits. Nothing had been neglected on the part of the monks. The confessors gave no other penance than so many ave marias to the holy Virgin Lady; the preachers extolled her perfections. They edified the people in their masses with commemorations to the mercies of the Virgin Mary. The people of good sense understood it, and valued it as much as it was worth. The Roman ladies felt themselves grossly offended at this insult on their protectress

in the hour of need; and sympathized with the humble monks. Even the young ladies blushingly said: "in spite of the canons we will visit the Madonna del Parto,” and agreed to meet their beaux at the Augustine church.

I cannot tell how things went at the secret council of the Curia, but the result, which was propagated with the celerity of lightning was, as many had expected: namely, That his Holiness, the Pope Leo XII. decided in favor of the Virgin of the Parturition and granted to the greater encouragment of the faithful, plenary indulgence of so many days, &c.

My readers will think this a romance, I guarantee the truth of the narrative and assure them, that for the sake of decorum I have not told the half. Every traveller who has been in Rome, can attest the fact, that even at this day, the uncanonized lady in the Augustine church is worshipped by all classes of the inhabitants of Rome.

Now what is the difference between heathen Rome and Papal Rome? The first brought offerings to Minerva and sacrificed to Diana. The second offers donations to the stone lady, and says masses to the lady of the Parturition. The first bowed down and worshipped their godesses.